Next month will mark our third anniversary of our first visit to Portugal. It also marks our second anniversary of our moving to Portugal. So, from the time we decided to move here, it only took us one year to sell and give away all our possessions, navigate the Portuguese residency hurdles, and actually arrive.
We were fortunate because it was pre-Covid, which made the process simpler than during Covid when offices were closed and paperwork was backlogged. Many people were caught midstream between having sold their homes and possessions in the US only to be left in a state of limbo, not allowed access into Portugal.
Our kids and grandkids also got lost in limbo when their March 2020 flight was canceled one week before departure. Fast-forward one-and-a-half years later to this month when they arrived safely, and significantly taller, than when we had last seen them.
While it is true that we missed out on more regular visits with them when we chose to move thousands of miles away, it is also true that we never would have had the opportunity to spend nearly two weeks of quality time like this if we had not moved away.
By the way, Portugal has now eliminated the outdoor mask mandate due to being the top country in the world for vaccination compliance.
Activities Galore in Portugal
They all arrived on Sunday, September 5th and departed on Friday, September 17th. Cathy had made a chart of activities and our schedule was booked pretty full. We also had many relaxing times in Ericeira with beach days and almost daily pastry runs. I would say that Portugal probably has the best pastries outside of France. And there is no shortage of beautiful beaches in Portugal!
My grandson, Cash, and I spent many hours playing Rummy. Although Cash is only 12 years old, he is a bit of a math whiz and quite proficient in psyching me out with his mind games. He first beat me when he was only seven! However, since then I have held my own and we battled to a 6-6 tie after playing a dozen one-thousand-point games on this trip.
My family used to play Rummy when I was a kid, and I was a poor sport back then. I have always hated to lose. Some things don’t change. Grandson or no grandson, I was not going to let this precocious punk beat me! Cathy never agreed with me about not letting the kids beat me at games, like chess, but once they did, their reward was far greater (and my suffering far worse).
On Monday the 6th, we hiked along the coast north of Ribiera D’ilhas, one of my favorite hikes.
If it’s Tuesday, this must be Sintra’s Pena Palace
On the 7th, we visited Pena Palace in Sintra. Cathy and I had never been there, partly because we were told that it was overrated. Not true! We found it to be a sensational palace with a lot of interesting fairy-like architecture and fascinating history.
After touring the palace, we toured the magnificent grounds. However, we got lost on the grounds (almost 500 acres of it!) and ended up walking at least twice as far as planned. We followed the Saída (Exit) signs only to come to a locked gate with an empty information booth. We did eventually make it out, though. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing this now.
The 8th was a beach day and the water was actually comfortable enough to swim in. The water here is usually chilly, like in Southern California.
The palace in Mafra, about a ten-minute drive from here, was visited on Thursday the 9th. I stayed behind because there was no room for me in the car, which was a great excuse to rest my sore ankles.
Óbidos Again!
Friday the 10th we spent a day in Óbidos, one of our favorite places. Our good friends, David and Sharie, were our wonderful tour guides. We finished the tour with lunch at Infusion, a place that we highly recommend to anyone visiting Óbidos. The food is always good, the ambiance friendly like Cheers, and the menu prices are excellent.
From there, the gang drove up to Nazaré, except for Cash, Foxy and me. We drove back to Ericeira because Cash and I had some serious card-playing to do.
Navigating the Narrow, Hilly, Cobblestone Roads of Lisboa on Segways
We spent a day touring the Alfama District and City Center of Lisboa by Segway on the 11th. We have come to love the Segways, but this day was a little hairier than previous excursions. Some of the roads were quite steep and braking on a Segway takes a little more skill than braking on a bicycle.
I will not go into detail on some of the embarrassing spills that were taken but I will say that a few of them would have made for some great YouTube moments. Now I can see why helmets are required.
On Friday, we were invited for delicious nosh and cocktails with our friends, Jim and Betsy, at their beautiful home in Ericeira. It was a delightful afternoon, and the kids got a kick out of Jim’s stories. Foxy enjoyed playing with NiKa, who is very patient with her.
Surfing in Ericeira, Europe’s ONLY World Surf Reserve
I was unaware that Ericeira was the only World Surf Reserve in Europe. It was the second in the world and now there are eight. The other seven are in Malibu, California (USA), Gold Coast (Australia), Punta de Lobos (Chile), Bahia Todos Santos, Baja (Mexico), Santa Cruz, California (USA), Huanchaco (Peru), Guarda do Embaú (Brazil) and Manly Beach (Australia).
One of the criteria is to have consistently good waves. Another is to have strong local support. Nazaré is more popular because of its outrageously big waves, sometimes up to 100 feet, but you won’t find many people brave enough or crazy enough to surf those!
Here is a picture of Cash catching his first wave while the rest of us cheer him on. Satya caught a few waves also.
Surfing in Ericeira on Monday the 12th was the most fun for me! I started surfing in Miami as a teenager. I wasn’t very good then and I am no better now. There was a guy sitting on the beach with a telescopic lens, shooting pictures to sell to us later.
When I looked at the photos after we were out of the water, I saw no pictures of me. All I wanted was a split-second shot of me riding a wave. A split-second was all that was possible because I fell each time after a half-second of semi-standing. Apparently, my balancing rotating parts need greasing.
I asked the photographer why he didn’t get any pictures of me. He said that there were just too many people out there. Yeah, but we were out there for over an hour, and you got a dozen photos of my granddaughter, Satya. Granted, she is way more photogenic than me, and she was a natural on the board, but you’ve got to take into consideration which one of us is holding the wallet to pay the extortion for the photos.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun and extremely exhausting. I could barely drag my surfboard out of the water. Naturally, and maybe fortunately, that was the only picture of me to prove that I even took part. And that photo was taken by my wife, who charged me double what the photographer charged!
Cabo da Roca is the Westernmost Point of Europe
The next day, Tuesday the 13th, we were scheduled to go to Cabo da Roca, which is the westernmost part of Europe. However, it was rainy and overcast so we put it off until the 14th. Cabo da Roca might also be the windiest part of Europe.
The views are spectacular, and I couldn’t help to look out and imagine ships sinking during storms in the 15th and 16th centuries, before modern, satellite weather forecasting. But this day was beautiful and sunny and I doubt that any ships would have sunk on a day such as this. Our friend and neighbor, Tracey, joined us and drove part of the crew as we couldn’t fit seven people in one car.
Thursday the 15th was spent packing and beaching it. It was going to be an early departure on Friday.
The Departure from LIS Back to PDX
We asked to be woken at 4:00am to say goodbye to the family, who were getting picked up at 4:30 to get to the airport. However, at 4:00 we were informed that their leg to London was canceled, which had a domino effect on subsequent flights to Portland. So I texted João at Taxi Barata (who I highly recommend) to inform him of the changes.
Of course, the driver was already on his way but they made the necessary adjustments. So, we all went back to bed to wake up a few hours later. I also went back to bed that afternoon after an exhausting, yet exhilarating couple of weeks.
The family ended up having to spend the night in London but that just added to their adventure and the kids looked forward to an overnight London exploration. They are starting to become world travelers.
Foxy was so Happy!
The one who might have had the most fun was Foxy (formerly known as Sky). She got lots of attention and loving hugs and smooches from her new extended family. Her energy is much better spread out among seven people (mostly young) than two old folks.
After the crew left, she would wander into their empty rooms and wonder when they were coming back. I don’t know what to tell her but, like her, we also hope it is soon. ❤️
Bob! Love this post… could feel the love in your witty words! Also, love the photos!! It has been fun following along with Cathy’s FB posts, and you topped it off with a day by day retelling! Thanks!!
Hi Nita! So good to hear from you and glad to know that you are following along. I can’t wait for you to come and take pictures with your artistic eye.
What a wonderful recap of what was obviously a fantastic holiday visit !
Interesting about the 8 worldwide surf locations.
You guys sure did a lot; really marvelous list of “doings”.
You’re right about Pena… there is a lot to see there… I suppose after being there so so so many times we are a bit jaded.
Thank you for the mention of your visit to our place. We had a great time… I was laughing my a** off most of the time. I do request a ping pong rematch with Dustin next time they visit.
See you round town my friend.
It was a fun time with you and Betsy! And both of us hate to lose, right?
Hahaha that’s for sure…
Wow, “just another most-excellent” recount with that marvelous sense of humour! What a nice time y’all had, and all the sweeter because of time apart. I love that last pic of Foxy, and your remarking on her search through empty rooms… so true, eh?…and you ALL hope it will be soon,, great writing! Obrigado e parabéns!
Thank you so much, Bob! The last awesome picture was taken by Cathy and it happened to fit perfectly with the sentiment.
Wonderful story! You and Cathy must have had a glorious time! I’m sure the Grandkids can’t wait to return! My love to you and Cathy!
It was definitely a glorious time! I hope they can’t wait to return. We can meet them anywhere in Europe also.
Glad they could finally get there.
It’s very nice, and probably rare, that teenagers would think they’d have a great time on an extended stay with their grandparents. It says a lot….you done good!
Well, that is a generous way to look at it. Another way is that there were beaches and surfing and lots of fun activities. 🙂
What an amazing story! You had so much family time and so much exploring! We are so excited to come see you.
It was a great couple of weeks! And you will be here before you know it!
Love Love Love reading this and seeing the fun photos of all those familiar faces! What an amazing couple of weeks for all of you. You are wonderful hosts and Portugal definitely offers great sights and activities for all ages. Kudos to you for attempting the surfing – what a good sport!! You and Cathy deserve to put your feet up and relax the rest of the month!
Our home feels quite empty now. All of us had a lot of fun. I was glad that I attempted surfing. The hardest part was getting the wetsuit on! But now I get the Spanx obsession.
Bob…I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog and I love the way you shared your precious family experiences with all of us. I’m sure it was a time you all will never forget. You are brave, my friend…from Segways to surfing to schlepping your family around your beautiful part of the world, you gave to them with your whole heart! So glad you enjoyed!
Enjoyed immensely and slept for two days after they left. Now I can’t wait for them to come back! 🙂
Wonderful! I agree with you that we often get more extended quality time with our loved ones when we live far away and need to plan a vacation when we live close but not close enough! My kids grew up seeing more of their aunt who lived 3000 miles away and visited us for vacation than their aunts who lived one hour away by car who they only saw for holiday dinners. // Bin, sounds like a wonderful family reunion. Portugal sounds spectacular. Thx for your blog. Best regards, Robert Vigman
That is so true about the extended quality time! I just don’t want to wait two years until the next time. Once a year would be much better.
Great to see you all healthy and happy.
Thank you, Dave! Still hoping to see you and Sabrina out here.
What a fun time, and I feel like I was vicariously with all of you! I appreciate you sharing each day’s activities. I have to honestly admit that same surfing situation happened to me as well. Somehow the photographer never got me standing up on the board…. Well that maybe because I never really stood on the board.lol!
Haha! It is harder than it looks!
Wonderful! Love seeing everyone together in such a beautiful place.
In the back of mind I was starting to wonder if it would ever come together after all the restrictions. So glad it finally did!
I loved seeing your pictures and hearing about family life. I’m planning a trip to Lisbon in early November to open my bank account and would love to get out to the Silver Coast if I have time. Seems like you are very happy in Ericea.
Hi Jayne. Yes, we are loving Ericeira. We just returned from a week in Lagos, in the Algarve, and we loved that also!